No matter the age, she always looks the same

It’s my sister’s birthday today. It’s not a significant one. She’s not turning 16, nor is she anywhere near 40. And, she isn’t going to retire at 65 any time soon - that's another two-plus decades. She’s just getting a little bit older, like the rest of us.

Whenever I see her, she always looks the same. It’s very similar to how I see my parents. My mother’s skin sags a little and my father has gained a lot of weight, but they still resemble the people who raised me.

My sister has no wrinkles (sunscreen and clean skin is all it takes), and there are more white hairs on my head than hers. After giving birth to two little girls, she’s a little curvier than when she was a teenager, but that’s a given for anyone. On any given day, she appears years younger than what she really is.

And, when I see her, she’s still my sister. She’s the same person I grew up with. There hasn’t been a great deviation in personality, but a constancy that has strengthened (sometimes for the worse, being stubborn like the rest of my family).

So, to her I wish a happy birthday. When she turns 40, it’s going to be another story altogether.